We all have a basic understanding of these three words.
Performance is the presentation of work, generally applied to an expected level of success. Coaching is mentoring and/or apprenticeship by instruction, encouragement and example. Put this all together for the corporate world and you have the following definition: The mentoring of executive leadership in forming strategic partnerships between mutually motivated companies to effectively raise profits and lower losses for each partner.
At a time when “coaching” is the go-to word for any form of guidance and “expert” advice, from Little League to self-help gurus, it’s important to understand this word in the context of corporate strategic alliances. Alliances are business partnerships, necessarily negotiated in positional isolation by their CEOs. Therefore, while the employees of each company participate in the collaborative process, the CEOs are the decision-makers and must rely on outside professional leadership to give counsel in forming the partnership. This is where Alliance Performance Coaching comes in.
Ray Williams writes in Psychology Today,
“the job of CEO is unique from several perspectives: No one else needs to hear the truth more, and gets it less from employees; no one else is the focus of criticism when things go wrong; no one else is the final decision maker on difficult and often lose-lose decisions…Good leaders make people around them successful. They are passionate and committed, authentic, courageous, honest and reliable. But in today’s high-pressure environment, leaders need a confidante, a mentor, or someone they can trust to tell the truth…”
An alliance performance coach is that confidante, mentor, that “someone they can trust” to guide these partner CEO’s through the performance process of collaboration toward mutual financial and career success. Coaching at this level is an art and a science to be handled by a skilled professional executive leader. A successful partner CEO should expect the following from this coach:
- Professional capabilities of handling the full scope of coaching on this level. Psychologist Gene Ondrushek, Ph.D., says this includes proven “knowledge of interpersonal relations” as well as the appropriate “corporate skill set.”
- An objective view of each company to form the best alliances and keep each partner focused. The price of objectivity may mean the “risk [of] getting fired by [the] client…learning and growth is never as easy as people…believe, and there is no potential change that doesn’t bring up resistance” explains Ben Dattnor, Ph.D., in Psychology Today. A core value of an alliance performance coach is the ability “to call things as he or she sees them,” for the benefit of the CEO and his/her company, as well as the partnership.
- Facilitating the planning, organizing and tasks of alliance development and operations. The coach offers guidance for specific decisions and strategies such as business plan, collaborative operations, roles and assignments, profit and loss division, funding and marketing and more, tailored to the specific goals of the alliance.
- Monitoring of the alliance’s performance to reach intended goals and assist with problem solving. The coach’s big-picture perspective of the partnership can quickly discern and suggest solutions for any weaknesses or needs to be addressed during development and operation.
- Providing motivation, encouragement and mediation, if/when needed, for the alliance as a team. Margaret Moore, Psychology Today posits that “Coaches who use the principles of positive psychology focus on the potential use of strengths in clients…” No matter what the challenges, putting a positive spin on the collaborative process will dramatically increase the inevitability of success for all.
So what can Alliance Performance Coaching do for you? 3rd Eagle is uniquely positioned to coach you through the development of any type of business partnership you have formed or would like to form. Look for us on LinkedIn and contact us today to get started.
— by George Tyler